Trump EPA approves nationwide waiver for E15 summer sales

The US Environmental Protection Agency will allow E15 to be sold at retail outlets across the country in the 2025 summer driving season, it announced on April 28, as the Trump administration continues an emergency fuel waiver policy initiated by the agency under former US President Joe Biden.

In a release, the EPA said the decision was consistent with US President Donald Trump's Jan. 21 executive order declaring a "national energy emergency," which specifically ordered the EPA and Department of Energy to consider issuing further E15 waivers.

"In my confirmation hearing, I pledged to establish certainty when it came to the sale of E15 year-round," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said. "Promises made, promises kept."

'Patchwork' process

The action formerly extends the 1-psi Reid Vapor Pressure waiver that applies to E10 gasoline to E15. The authority is given to the EPA Administrator via the Clean Air Act, who can issue waivers to address temporary fuel shortages.

In 2024, when the EPA granted an indefinite E15 carveout to eight midwestern states, then-EPA Administrator Michael Regan noted the decision would result in "no overall change in evaporative emissions," effectively dismissing the smog concerns that originated the summer E15 ban.

The move will permit terminals outside of ethanol-producing Midwest states to continue selling the ethanol blend beyond May 1.

The eight Midwestern states granted the indefinite extension were Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin, though the governors of Ohio and South Dakota have asked for a one-year implementation delay to update fuel infrastructure in their states. EPA granted those requests on Feb. 28.

The Clean Air Act stipulates the waivers may last a maximum of 20 days, though EPA is expected to re-issue new waivers throughout the summer. In a release, EPA wrote that Zeldin had determined "extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances exist."

The Renewable Fuels Association, one of the US' largest ethanol trade groups, quickly praised the decision.

"With geopolitical conflict roiling energy markets worldwide, we applaud President Trump and Administrator Zeldin for acting quickly to combat potential fuel shortages and help keep a lid on gas prices this summer," RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper said in a statement. "Allowing uninterrupted sales of E15 will help boost gasoline supplies, bolster the farm economy, and protect air quality."

Industry happy, for now

The by-name mention of E15 in one of the first executive orders of the Trump presidency pleasantly surprised the ethanol industry in January. One industry source told Platts, part of S&P Global, that while producers were still waiting to see how favorable the Trump administration would be to their sector, the E15 inclusion was "a pretty big deal" that showed the administration was already aware of a niche but economically vital issue.

At the time, the biofuels lobby was reeling: In December, after several years of little legislative movement, the language of a nationwide E15 bill proposed by US Senator Deb Fischer, Republican-Nebraska, made it into the initial draft of Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson's continuing resolution to fund the government.

Its passage would have represented a major win for the industry. Instead, that language was suddenly stripped from the final bill after Trump and campaign allies called for Republicans to excise spending that did not directly involve funding the federal government.

Fischer's bill, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2025, has since been reintroduced in the 119th Congress. It was cosponsored in both chambers of Congress by a bipartisan group of 12 senators and 28 representatives, many of whom hail from Midwestern states. But it has not gained further momentum as Johnson and House Republicans focus on extending Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act through budget reconciliation.

On April 27, speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the administration was prepared to issue subsidies to US farmers in the coming months if Trump's tariff program reduced demand for US goods and farm exports declined.

In a release on April 28, Rollins said the EPA's waiver would support US corn farmers by increasing domestic ethanol demand.

"This move to allow the summer sale of E-15 will provide immediate relief to consumers, provide more choices at the pump, and drive demand for corn grown, processed, and used right here in America," Rollins said.

Still, industry groups continued to lobby for permanent federal legislation, much as they did in 2022, 2023 and 2024, when Biden issued E15 waivers citing global market uncertainty in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Nevertheless, emergency waivers and a patchwork of state-specific rules are a temporary remedy, and we badly need a permanent fix to allow E15 year-round on a nationwide basis," American Coalition for Ethanol CEO Brian Jennings said in a statement. "It is long past time Congress takes action."